Home Is Where the Heart Is

People have said expat life will either make or break you. I've been here long enough to safely say being an expat both makes and breaks me, some days it's both at the same time. If you've never lived abroad, looking at us, you would, at first glance, say "What a life!" Yes, it is. Yes, we have a driver. The thought of trying to drive in this country, however, sends shivery chills down my spine. Just this morning, Mr. Liu and I saw an accident where a really, REALLY bad driver plowed into an old man on a scooter...and kept driving. Yes, we live in a great townhouse in a fabulously beautiful city. This fab townhouse has about as many faults as it does favors. Currently, I'm waiting on repairs for four lights, three sinks, two countertops, and one tub...seriously. I love the grand size, but ever since my knee accident, I've cursed each and every stair in this place. By the way, there are fifty one. Suzhou is gorgeous, full of history, shopping, and friendly people. It's also intimidatingly huge, surrounded by even bigger cities, which are filled with just as much history and people. I mean, my gosh, I'm just now discovering all there is in our neighborhood center. Latest find...a music store and game room. Larry's job has afforded him the opportunity to use his knowledge to train employees, implement procedures and travel all over the place. Of course, the growing pains with the new factory have, at times, been excrutiating. Support is limited, and he's come to hate the popular phrase, "It's the China way". Our girls go to a top notch international school. Their little world, like their parents', has expanded far beyond Seneca, SC's borders. They've seen how the filthy rich live and how the filthy poor struggle to survive. They're also learning things far beyond anything they would have learned at home. And, then there's that word...home. We sold our home in SC and brought all of our possessions with us. I've hung pictures on the walls, added some plants, bought a few homey pieces of furniture and even petted up the place with Rosie and Peanut. Is it home? Hmm...Ask me when I'm in one of my dreary moods, shut off from everyone, freezing, and I'd say "This cavernous tomb?!? No way!" Today, however, when the sun is bright, birds are chirping and Rosie's lounging on my feet, "Yep, this is our home. What a life"

Grue

Growing up, my brother and I would shudder in fear whenever my mom went out for the evening as this inevitably meant...dad was cooking. His whole-meal-in-one-dish concoctions were legendary...and not in a good way. I have vivid recollections of what became known as 'grue'. These dishes usually involved some sort of starch or pasta that turned into a lethal weapon upon hardening. Vegetables and some kind of meat were mixed in to provide a well-balanced...lethal weapon.

I think I inherited a bit of my mom's as well as my dad's cooking skills. My cooking skills are hit and miss. I can whip up a delicous meal in a few minutes. I can also spend all day and produce god-awful tasting mess. These usually are of the all-in-one variety. Having four very finicky eaters, finding a meal everyone likes is not easy. Sarah, for all intents and purposes, is a vegetarian. Katie is my carb lover. Syd and Larry are my carnivores. Since moving to China, I have been honing my fried rice making skills. The first few batches would have made Dad's grue look like a Master Chef's best dish. The last batch I made was so bad even Rosie and Peanut turned up their noses. I shelved the steamer in disgust. Unfortunately, I forgot to empty the bowl of the rice-goo. Did you know that if rice is left sitting for several months it actually turns into bluish green powder?

Tonight, after soaking the tainted bowl for a few hours, I tried again with chicken. Three out of five of us ate it. Sarah played her vegetarian card and Katie said she'd rather have leftovers. I guess I'll keep trying.

Discoveries in the Neighborhood

Two days of sunshine and my mood is starting to brighten. The fact that our Thailand trip is less than a week away also puts a little pep in my step.

My step, however, still has a bit of a limp. Problems with my knee have hindered the spirits. I thought I'd fully recovered from my New Year's Eve injury, but when I went to an aerobics class, my knee swelled up like a basketball and has been hurting ever since. Physical therapy is the course of action at present. I''m also hoping to get in to see a specialist during our trip home this summer. Walking and bike riding are about all I can handle.

With the girls occupied with friends, Larry and I headed to the neighborhood center. We opted for a nice walk rather than a bike ride. We explored the entire neighborhood center and discovered the place is a city within a city. I had no idea there was a dry cleaners, hair salon, pharmacy, childrens' clothing and shoe stores, a dozen restaurants including a food court, florist, charm school, library, dentist and health center, liquor store, travel agency, two toy stores and many more stores. This is in addition to the previously mentioned grocery store, bakeries, coffee shop, gym, fresh market, and KFC. Geez, I can't believe it took me over a year and half to discover all of this. We ate lunch at the food court. I'll definitely be going back there. Delicious.

We bought some fresh fruit and veggies for dinner before heading home. As we neared one of the bridges, we noticed a small crowd on the opposite side of the street. Being the busy bodies that we are, we crossed over to get a closer look. A young woman was sitting on the ground and twenty or so passerbys were surrounding her. Scooters and bikes blocked the scooter lane and soon the crowd became quite large. We passed by the growing mob, but stopped about twenty feet beyond just to see how things played out. As far as we could tell, she was either walking and got hit by a scooter, got beat up by someone, fell off her scooter and the scooter fell in the canal, or she fainted and relished in the attention of the crowd. Police arrived, soon followed by an ambulance. Three men in labcoats picked up the woman and put her on the gurney. No stabilization, no checking vitals, no calls to the hospital or any of those other things you see EMTs doing. I don't even think they strapped her to the gurney before loading her in the back of the ambulance. Larry and I joked they probably drove a kilometer down the road and let her out. We've also promised to not call for an ambulance in case of emergency.

Earth Hour

An hour without any power. Earth Hour has been marked on our calendar for over a month. Dulwich even had a practice hour last Thursday. Syd started the countdown Saturday morning.

At 8:30pm, all lights were turned off, computers shut down, and PSPs and DSs off. The girls wanted me to check the other houses. I walked down the street, but unfortunately, we appeared to be the only ones participating. We made the most of time in the candlelight. A spontaneous game of charades ensued with Sarah stumping us twice. We carried the candles upstairs and told bedtime stories.

Syd suggested we have an Earth Hour every day, so last night we ate dinner by candlelight. Not a bad idea.

Football Fun in the Sun

Winter and Spring have been battling it out the past few weeks. We'd get a glimmer of nice weather and then it would turn cold and rainy. Last week, it rained so hard our balcony again flooded. It was too cold to send the girls out to bail water. Though, I know Sarah would have gone in a heart beat. I've already figured out my mood and the weather are in direct correlation. Needless to say, when I woke up Saturday to sunshiny warmth, I did a little happy dance.

While Larry went downtown to pick up his second new suit, the girls and I hung out in the sunshine. I talked with a few other mums, catching up with expat drama. Sarah ran nonstop from the time we arrived until we left three hours later. Syd enjoyed the competitiveness, and Katie enjoyed the social aspect. During one of the breaks, a dozen little girls were showing off their headstands. Not to be outdone, Anne and I proceeded to showcase our abilities. After almost crippling myself attempting one last week, I made some minor adjustments and remained vertical for a few seconds. Thankfully, no one was quick enough to capture the moment. Anne wasn't so lucky.

A Grain of Salt

Last week, while I was on one of my grocery store runs, I stumbled into a mob scene. After a year and half, I have gotten fairly used to the controlled chaos that is every day life here. Simple tasks like shopping can easily turn into all day excursions if you're looking for a particular item. However, I was not prepared for apparant mass hysteria, which was brought on by rumors of radiation. Terrifying emails spouting all should stay indoors, and if it rains to immediately wash affected areas, began appearing last Monday. By Wednesday, a sense of panic enveloped the area. I was, unfortunately, oblivious to this until I entered Auchen on Thursday. All one hundred and ten checkout registers were open and packed with dozens of people. Carts were sparse, and the one I did find wobbled, but I wasn't going to be picky as there was a horde of folks behind me waiting. Trying to negogiate the aisles was next to impossible. There were sale signs hanging everywhere so I figured people were stocking up on the sale items. As I neared the condiments section, though, I knew something was off kilter. I couldn't even get down two of the aisles. People were camped out, while others tried to shove their way into the already packed crowd. Now I've been nudged, bumped, caught in the ankle with another's cart, even cut off, but I've never been shoved with force. Not until last Thursday. At that moment, for the first time since arriving in China, I was kind of scared. If I hadn't had a full cart, I would have run to the van. Instead, I shoved my way through the maelstrom, paid for my wares and got the heck out of there.

It wasn't until Larry got home that night and he told me the rumors spreading through the major cities about radiation and locals being told to stock up on iodine and all Japanese products that the proverbial lightbulb went on.

Hoping for less of a crowd, I went to Wal-Mart today. In comparison, it was like a ghost town. Going up and down the aisles, I soon realized why. There was nothing left. People had stripped the shelves bare. No, not all the shelves were depleted. There was still plenty of food, but if we needed any salt, soy sauce or any iodine-related products, we'd be SOL. The imported section took a huge hit as well.

I found myself smirking (I do that quite often here) as I passed the 'seafood' section. No shortage there, plenty of slimy critters from which to choose.

Book Character Day

Dressing up has gone to new levels since moving here. The easy accessability to relatively cheap custom-made costumes has turned our already packed basement into a diva's delight, or rather divas'. There must be a dozen dance outfits, wigs of varying length, boas, crowns, and even a giant sausage. Between Halloween, recitals, plays and Dulwich's book character day, the number is sure to increase.

The only difficulty comes in trying to decide what to be. Sydney had picked out her character several weeks ago when we took the Extreme Reading photos. She wanted to stay within the Tudor period, taking on Queen Mary, aka Bloody Mary as she told me. Sarah, with some input from her sister, chose Heidi. She really wanted to carry a real baby lamb, but I feared the poor thing would end up in the lunch room. She made do with a stuffed one. Katie, of course, waited until we'd already finished shopping to tell me she wanted a fancy costume, but she didn't know what to be. After seeing some red sparkle shoes, she wanted to be Dorothy. We couldn't find a dress off the rack, and we didn't have enough time to get one made. Just before an imminent meltdown, I spotted a pair of fangs in a shop window and an idea formed. Our obsession with vampires paid off. I told Katie she could be Mina from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. She liked the idea of being Dracula's girlfriend.

This morning started early. The girls were excited to get dressed. After breakfast, I applied makeup, braided Sarah's hair, pinned on Syd's crowns and drew fang marks on Katie's neck. I walked to the bus stop to see what the other kids were wearing. I chuckled to myself as SpongeBob, SpiderMan, and a Power Ranger boarded the bus. I guess everyone's intrepretation of a 'book' character is different.

Potpourri of Pottery

Whenever we'd eat at Casa Zoe, one of the girls' favorite restaurants, I'd covet the beautiful dishes. I examined the make of them, only to discover an American brand name stamped on the bottom. I asked one of the waitresses if she knew where they'd bought their dishes. Her response, "Yixing".

Yixing, a city located about two hours northwest of Suzhou, is known for pottery and ceramics. It's known simply by expats as Pottery Town. The expat group went there just before I became involved, but I'd heard several members mention they'd found some pretty pieces.

The only dishes we brought with us from the US were my Lenox 'fancy' china. I sold almost all of the white Pfaltzgraf we received when we got married except for some large bowls and platters. I was determined to find a new set and not a white one. For an entire year, I would say I wanted to go, but could never seem to plan a trip. Well, 2011 is the year of "now's the time". First mission accomplished by getting Larry to the tailor. Now for the dishes.

I mentioned to my friend, Shannon, about going and she said she wanted to come as did a couple of other ladies. We picked a day and by gum, we went. Thankfully, one of the ladies is Chinese or the day would have been more of an adventure than it was.

We had no idea where in the city we were going, and we didn't realize the city was so large. After a half hour of asking (well, not me asking...Mr. Liu and Rachel), we made it to Pottery Town. Funny, though, as we neared, the signs read 'Ceramics City'. Hundreds of stores, street after street, awaited us. We split up to cover a wider area. Every store we went into sold teapots and I'm pretty sure most of the shop owners either made the pots or was related to the person who made them. I watched an older woman as she meticulously handpainted characters on to the clay mugs. I'm quite sure I'll buy a tea set on a second or third trip, but I had tunnel vision. Since we were the only non-workers roaming the streets, people were anxious to assist. A seemingly crippled and ancient woman hiked a steep set of stairs and into a cramped attic, helping me search. Another kindly woman, after learning from Rachel I was looking for plates, led us to her...storeroom, which was located amidst an apartment complex a few minutes down a not so pleasant road. Going through the barred windowed door, all of us stood with our mouths agape. There were four rooms stacked to the ceiling with plates, bowls, mugs, platters and other kitchen accessories. We had to be careful where we walked trying to avoid the towers of dishes. I don't know how the woman finds anything, but there must have been some method to her madness. I showed her what I liked and off she would go, coming back with more. Some had brand names like Pampered Chef or Southern Living. Others were blank. All were beautiful. Had we found this place earlier, more serious shopping would have taken place. Even with limited time, we managed to fill the back of the van. I was in awe as that room was just one of hundreds. I wanted to knock on the door of a couple more, but we had to get back to Suzhou. We'd already stayed too long and our girls were going to miss ballet. But, I figured we could at least have a good dinner and eat off of our new dishes. Oh, total price on a set of eight; two sizes of plates and bowls, large platter, large bowl, cream/sugar bowls and utensil holder...179RMB or roughly $26. Oh, yeh...I'll be going back there.

Sharp Dressed Man

It took a year and a half, but I finally managed to get Larry to the tailor. He's been hinting he wanted a new suit. Every time we'd pass a tailor shop, we'd have some excuse not to go in, but a couple of weeks ago, the stars must have been aligned. Several friends recommended a couple of tailors in the old town and I was also really pleased with the girls' coats we had made last year. We stumbled, however, into another shop that didn't have too many people. A family run store with the parents doing the measuring and sewing while their son, who spoke English, working the sale. Larry picked out a nice gray pinstriped fabric for the suit and two for shirts, pink and yellow. Throw in a black cashmere coat to finish off the look. I got caught up in the fun and got measured for two coats. The son told us everything would be ready in ten days.
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon exploring the area known as walking street. The weather was decent and the place was mobbed. First stop was the tailor. Everything turned out beautifully. I love my coats and Larry looked very dashing in his suit (maybe not so much in the picture with his ballcap and sneakers).

We ate lunch at an 'International Buffet' restaurant. Larry and I are game for most places. The girls are not as daring. The name, however, was a bit misleading. It was a buffet, but the choices were not as international as the girls had hoped. They did have some yummy skewers and two little guys would come to the table and offer grilled items, some more easily identifiable than others. I only spit one into my napkin when I couldn't chew it without gagging. Next stop was the electronics store where Larry bought the twins' PSPs. Four floors of all things electronic. Bargaining ensued on two new batteries for the games. They'd charged them too long and burned 'em up. We waited an extra thirty minutes so they could download thirty-nine new games. While we waited, we found a harddrive docking station on the fourth floor. This will enable me to retrieve the photos and files I thought we'd lost when the other computer got fried by a virus.

Minus the mishaps in the chinese toilets, details not necessary, everyone had a good day. Syd was a bit jealous since her PSP had less games added than Sarah's, but she's coping.

Mother Nature

Videos and newstories about the earthquake and tsunami that crippled northern Japan take my breath away. Whole towns wiped away in a matter of minutes. Families searching frantically for loved ones assumed lost in the disaster. Nuclear meltdown fears. It's almost too devastating to be real.
And too close.
Larry was in Korea last week. He'd text everyday just to let me know where he was or what he was doing. Friday afternoon, I received a text, "Have you heard about the quake? We felt it here". Katie was sick last week, so the television was on cartoons or a movie, but as soon as I flipped it to CNN, I was inundated with horrific images. I responded, "OMG, r u alright?" Nothing. I sent another one, "where r u?" Nothing. I waited until the girls were asleep and sent,"text me when u can". I watched the news all night and was semi appeased when there were no reports of any Korean disasters. I released a huge sigh of relief when I received a text Saturday morning, "on way to airport, may be delays".
The girls and I rode with Mr. Liu to the airport as we'd planned on doing some Shanghai shopping. When we arrived, Mr. Liu said the flight was on time, and we only had to wait a few minutes before he came into view.
I told him how worried I was since he didn't respond. Unfortunately, his phone battery died. He went on to tell me about the tremor he felt. He was in Buson, which is on the southeastern coast, and had just boarded the high speed train to Incheon. He said it felt like really bad airplane turbulance and the train slowed to almost a stop until the tremor subsided. At the time, no one knew what had happened. It wasn't until he'd reached Incheon that they were told about the quake. He added the Seoul airport was packed with people trying to get to Japan.
We all hugged Daddy and I told him to make sure his phone was charged for his next trip.

I Am Who I Am For a Reason

A conversation took place in the car this evening, which I am sure will stick with me for quite some time. The twins had ballet class and afterwards we decided to go out for a quick dinner. Katie was feeling kind of blue. The high of her trip to Malaysia had worn off and she's starting to get a little cold. She loves to dance, but because she is bigger than most of her classmates, she feels really self conscious about how she looks in dance attire. The two of us are working together to right the weighted ship and get ourselves in shape. She weeped as she said she wished she could eat and look like Sarah and Sydney, so she could be skinny. Sarah didn't mean to make matters worse when she said that she could eat all the junk food in the world and still not gain weight. I tried the ever true "Wouldn't the world be a boring place if we all looked the same?" It fell flat. I needed something stronger to turn the mood positive.

Enter Syd. Usually she and Katie are like oil and water or cats and dogs or an oil covered cat and a water soaked dog, but every once and a while, there is a moment that reassures me they do in fact love each other. She said, "I am who I am for a reason, and you are who you are for a reason."

Wow, pretty deep for an eight year old. The kid knows how to work a crowd, a moment, anything. She was the first in the entire school to reach two hundred reward points, earning her a gold certificate. The students are given points when they go above and beyond. Since there's nothing higher than the gold certificate, I'm wondering what her motivation will be for the rest of the year.

As I was relishing in the outpouring of compliments, Sydney wanted to keep things real and said to Katie, "I wish sometimes I could sing like you, and I bet you wish you could be as smart as me." Way to keep it real, Syd.

Extreme Readers

March is Book Month at Dulwich College and the school has plenty of activities to celebrate the joys of reading.

Authors are visiting, a readathon for charity, dressing up as a favorite literary character, short story writing competition, and parents are encouraged to come in and share their favorite childhood book. Hmm... I'm not sure Dulwich is ready for a mom sharing the genius of Stephen King to eight and ten year olds.

There's also an extreme reading photo competition. As soon as Sydney heard about this, she has been planning and plotting. Early on, Katie decided on geode themed picture. I wasn't involved at all. She and her sisters did the entire photo shoot. Syd, however, wanted parental involvement, props, makeup and costumes.

Year Three just finished studying the Tudors. I bought Showtime's version, just so I had some idea what they were learning. Sydney thought it would be cool to be one of King Henry's wives. I suggested she could be either Ann Boleyn or Catherine Howard and Sarah could be the executioner. They loved the idea and set out to find appropriate books and props for the photo. Yesterday, we walked around the neighborhood and found the perfect spot for a beheading. Ketchup squirted strategically on the neck, Syd played dead like nobody else, while Sarah embodied quite a creepy little killer.

Winning photos will be announced at the end of the month.

Random Moments

Whenever I go anywhere, I always try to remember my camera. For a while, I kept it in my purse, but my fetish for new purses soon led to searches and confusion. Keys, wallets, taxi cards, cameras, and the all important travel tissues never seemed to end up in the same purse. There was, however, a constant accessory that did accompany me. My phone. I do not have a fancy one with internet and hundreds of applications. I can call and text people, play a couple of games, which helps when sitting in traffic, and it has a camera. I'm pretty sure all phones have cameras and videos now, but I still find this function fascinating and extremely convenient. The memory is full and if I want to be able to use my phone today I need to download a year's worth of random pictures and videos.

Here's a sampling...